Thursday, May 22, 2014

recently my sister martha had shared with me a stir fry dish----it is very versatile but basically you use a bag of birdseye stir fry veg. mix add a bag of broccoli florets---stir fry with korean teriyaki sauce about 1/2 bottle---serve over rice---

her recipe was feeding two or three so i increased my recipe to almost double ----i also have made it with general tso's sauce---frank preferred the general tso's sauce----we really enjoy this dish and i have added chicken and beef to it---i think the chicken works better---

with the frozen vegetables it's a little difficult to get the right consistency so i may try my wok the next time-

a really good cold pasta salad i made last week was well received-----and very simple---two bags of frozen three cheese tortellini---cook as directed to al-dente--mix with a can of fiesta corn----toss with about half a bottle of sun-dried tomato dressing----i added a little dry dill----

the other night i brought out one of my old dishes---but it's hearty and filling----
you can make your own scalloped or au gratin potatoes----i myself use any packaged potatoes---three of them for us---prepare as directed---adding extra butter and milk----canned flake ham---frozen uncooked peas----a little mustard----half of a bag of cheddar cheese and half to top it-----

oh and i almost forgot---and i wish i had a pic of this------i made what frank and i believe to be the best chili i have ever made------couple of changes----spaghetti sauce instead of my usual tomato juice---of course i still used diced tomatoes------and this i think was the real difference---along with a package of chili seasoning---i used sloppy joe seasonings-------all eaten---unlike my last post about my chili----remember

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

the last couple of days the weather has made me think of summers as a child---the minute the warm breeze hits my face, it brings me back to a vivid almost painful longing---a sense of what summer represented to me----

i see my mother starting the hot car to take us on the weekly grocery trip----i was just sharing with one of my granddaughters the other day, one of these precious memories---

as we ate lunch after the recent movie trip---she sat next to me--she carefully noticed the tiny stuffed animal she had purchased from the movie house's vending machines----i suggested she name him or her rio--after the movie we had all just seen---

i told her how when i was about her age---my mom would let me spend all the pennies i could find---some i had saved and some she had donated to my stash---i would then excitedly enter those coins into the six vending machines---eagerly awaiting the treasure i would take home----to this day i get a little thrill as that coin turns

the summers of my childhood really didn't have that much going on---unlike most of my friends, we didn't belong to a pool ---although we would occasionally go to a public man made lake----to tell the truth those outings filled me with great anxiety as i pretended to love the water while secretly and with much shame couldn't wait to go home----

we did take a trip each year to the outer banks ---my dad would leave his business in the hands of his employees for three days---we would depart on a thursday and return on a Sunday----i recall with great fondness how my father would make us get up that last vacation day, dress in our church clothes and sit through the long service---my sunburned back would stick against those hard pews in the tiny wooden un-airconditioned church-

and today as it isn't even summer yet--i hold on to all those sweet visions of a simpler time and place in my past---and i trust that the days ahead will continue to call me back

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

hope everyone is having a good morning or it may be evening for some of you!

i feel kinda energetic today and optimistic---which that last part is not unusual for me---

i may have unexpectedly become a little more of a morning person---actually i am fairly good until hmmm maybe 3 or 4 in the afternoon--and then not so much good for anything---

just throwing together dinner with robyn's help most times and watching a few of my intellectual tv programs---you know the housewives franchise----remember the judging thing!

wow that's two exclamation points so far---not to worry though---i will not become "punctuationly"(see i told you)correct

as i am writing this i have music playing on an easy listening station---it is influencing me--which is why i rarely have any noise around me as i write-----the instrumental strains are beckoning me to the past and the melancholy business of life---but that's okay---it feels kinda cool to let the music move me like when we dance

and since life is one great big waltz---a twirling of emotions and crescendos --i don't turn it off---no i let it speak to me---like an old friend who's letter i am rereading---

aren't our souls and hearts quite fickle----i had planned to tell you about my dinner last night---another time perhaps----"i'm always chasing rainbows" is playing